Resident Evil: Shadows of Umbrella

Dismember Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil in any shape or form. However, if Capcom is interested in some of my characters, please let me know. :)

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Chapter One

July 6, 1998

Umbrella Compound, 0925 hours

Captain Jackson Keitel, Umbrella Biohazard Counter Special Forces, looked out the window and watched the three transport choppers for his team as they warmed up. About an hour ago, he received an urgent message from the upper tiers of the Umbrella hierarchy. Apparently, there was some kind of problem, and containment for a special project had failed. This was the exact reason that Umbrella had commissioned the UBCSF groups several years ago when they began generic and viral research. It was up to Umbrella to clean up their own messes, since they didn't want the U.S. Government sticking its nose into their business. In the decade that he had served in the UBCSF, they had only been called out twice before. This one though looked to be the worst. He looked down at the screen that displayed an image of an unhappy woman.

"You are to execute this mission with all speed, Captain. Our team that was dispatched to Dr. Birkin's lab never returned back here. We can only assume that it was an utter failure. If possible, you are to retrieve his research, and bring it back to us."

The Captain smirked. "Madam, I know the leader of that team, his codename was 'Hunk.' He was creepy at times, but he never failed to get the job done. He may not have reported in yet, but I would almost bet a month's pay that he will still retrieve the doctor's research."

The woman on the monitor crossed her arms and looked annoyed. "Be that as it may, Captain, your orders are still the same. Your team is to make it with all haste into Raccoon City and retrieve that data and sample."

Captain Schneider held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Alright, Madam Francine, we will be departing soon." God, he hated dealing with any of the Umbrella board members in person. "The last of our equipment is being checked out, and once that and a few last minute things are completed, we will depart. Besides my team, who else is going to be heading to Raccoon?"

"Your team is designated 'Team Alpha.' There will be in all, five total UBCSF teams that will be heading into Raccoon City. Their orders will be to stop the spread of the biohazards, and retrieve as many civilians as possible. There is also going to be something else that we are trying..."

The captain looked sharply at the image on the monitor. "What?"

The board member fidgeted for a moment and glanced away from the monitor for a moment before she looked at him again. "They have decided to activate a new team and see how they do. They are designated the 'Umbrella Special Security' team. Or, USS for short."

The UBSCF captain glared at the monitor. "Why are they sending another team? Don't they think that five teams should be enough for this?"

It was the board member's turn to glare. "It is decided, and nothing further will be discussed about them. They have their orders, same as you. I want the UBCSF teams under way in less then an hour, or there will be hell to pay. Do you get me, Captain?"

Captain Schneider rolled his eyes. God, she was getting on his last nerve. "Understood, Out." He pushed the button that killed the monitor. He exhaled sharply, unaware that he had held his breath. There were days he just wanted to have a 'sanitize' order given for the Umbrella Board of Directors. He shivered slightly. There were times he felt like a criminal because of what he did, but he seemed positively clean next to some of those board monsters. The captain sighed again as the computer to his left dinged letting him know he received an email. He moved the mouse cursor to his Inbox and clicked on it.

The email inbox opened to show one new email that waited for his eyes. The captain's eyes widened slightly when he saw who it was from. It was from the UBCSF boss herself, Colonel Allison Westmire. This was most irregular, since she always briefed her XO on things personally. It was also strange, in that it came simply under the name of 'Big Al'. He opened the email, and his eyes widened again:

Jack,

I shouldn't be sending this to you, but this is important. You have proved your loyalty to both me and Umbrella more times then I care to count, but something from higher up is working its way down. I think that the newly formed USS team is an experiment to eventually replace our teams. We try not to let psychopaths or other assorted trash into the UBCSF teams, they are not as prone to discretion with the USS team. Of the six known members, three of them have known violent criminal records. I haven't been able to access their real identities, but I have their code names: Bertha, Vector, Beltway, Spectre, Four Eyes, and Lupo. I do not know what their orders are, and I have a feeling that our teams being sent out today are considered expendable. Watch your back, Jack.

P.S. Against standard orders, you will notice that the transport choppers for your team are part of the re-purposed Mi-24 Hinds that we have access to. There is a reason for it, so treat it like it is business as normal.

Captain Schneider read the email a couple of times as he attempted to digest the meaning. Why did his commander use an alias? Why had she sent this to him to begin with? Why in the name of hell was Umbrella doing this? Unfortunately, another email didn't come in, and all the current email did was leave him with more questions then anything. Quietly, he printed out a copy of the email before he deleted it. Once the paper came out of the printer, the captain collected it and folded it up. He tucked it into a utility pocket on his armored vest. Perhaps after this was over, he would go see her and find out what in the name of hell was going on. With one last glance at the screen, he powered down the computer and left the office.

Lieutenant Mary Ruiz checked once again over the last of her gear. Normally, they were given more time to be prepared for missions, but at this time it wasn't possible since it had come up so quickly. Still, it was a good idea to get all her gear together and be properly together before she headed out. As she packed up the last of her equipment, she smiled lightly. Her three years in the U.S. Special Forces had prepared her for a lot in her life. She knew how to deal with a crises, and how to handle the unexpected when it was thrown at her. There were still times that she was amazed at what she had seen in the employ of Umbrella. If only her brother could see her now, just how proud of her he would be. She sighed. It was a shame he had chosen to be a cop instead of joining her with Umbrella. It would have been like old times again, but it wasn't too be.

"Lieutenant Ruiz?"

Team Alpha's XO jumped slightly and turned to the unknown speaker. Her eyes narrowed at the gentleman that stood before her. He had a slight build, wore a tailored suite, and polished dress shoes. He had a pin on his lapel that bore the Umbrella logo. She relaxed slightly. It must have been one of the Umbrella higher ups, possibly one of the board members. She did her best to fake a smile. "Yes, may I help you?"

The gentleman looked around briefly before he handed her a slip of paper. "With my compliments, my lady."

Mary blinked a couple of times and opened her mouth to speak. With a start, she realized that he was already gone. She shook her head. What the hell was this? She glanced at the slip of paper and opened it:

Mary,

I can't say too much right now, but something isn't right. Bring more ammunition, just to be on the safe side. We will talk in the flight over to Raccoon City.

Jack

The lieutenant looked at the note again before she crumbled it up and stuffed it into her pocket. This was strange. Why did Cap tell her about this now? She glanced briefly at her ammunition locker, and threw a few more magazines into her utility pockets. This was certainly strange, but she shrugged her shoulders. She trusted her captain, and figured that if it was important enough to warn her ahead of time, then it was something that would deserve her full attention. Satisfied that she had everything she needed, she gathered up her stuff and headed toward the flight loft.

Flight Officer Thomas Briggs sat at the controls of his Mi-24 with a look of boredom. He had the chopper ready to go about fifteen minutes ago, but the damn ground team was taking its time getting everything together. He glanced over his gauges again for the fifteenth time, and drummed his fingers on the controls. His headset beeped once, and he pulled his microphone down toward his lips. "Yeah?"

"Tom? You ready out there?"

The flight officer rolled his eyes. "Yeah Cap, been ready. Just waiting for your sorry self to get your team out here."

The captain scoffed. "Of course you are ready, you don't have to pack for a weekend in hell, now do you?"

the flight officer closed his eyes for a moment. "Uh, I do have a question for you though, Cap."

"Fire away."

The flight officer grinned. "Poor choice of words when sitting on the flight line with fully loaded weapons systems, Cap." His grin faded. "Why did they change our rides? I mean, granted, I am checked out on the Mi-24s, but why are we not ridding our normal MH-53s?"

There was silence for a moment. "I don't know, Tom." Came the soft reply. "All I know, is that the higher ups ordered it. I don't question it, I just do it."

"I hear ya, Cap. Just waiting for you and the rest of the team to get here."

The flight into Raccoon City was unremarkable. Captain Schneider was surprised that the team had been split up on orders. He and four of his people traveled with him in one chopper, and the Lieutenant traveled with the other four in another chopper. He scratched his head. Since his team had been split, and Team Alpha was only ten people total, why did they have a third chopper along? Occasionally, he would glance toward the straggler, but then just shrugged. Well, they didn't always tell him everything that was going on, perhaps there were new orders that were handed down that hadn't been given to him yet.

The captain's headset beeped once. He clicked the stud that would let him talk. "Yes? Go ahead."

"Hello, Captain Keitel. It is good to finally talk to you at last."

The captain looked briefly around the cabin. No one in here had their microphone down except the pilot, and he knew Tom's voice anywhere. He was still puzzled, but he was willing to give this a shot. "OK, I don't know who this is, but if you need to pass on something, please be quick. We are almost to Raccoon City."

The voice laughed, and the captain felt the hairs of his neck stand up. "I am aware of that, Captain. I am watching you and your team on approach. I just wanted to say I look forward to seeing what you and your team can do. It will be an honor to come out on top of your bodies."

The captain swallowed. This could only mean...

"You are one of the members of the new USS team, aren't you?"

A cold, predatory laugh sounded in the headset. "Very good, captain. Of course, you can't guess which one I am, nor would I tell you even if you were right. All I can tell you, is that your team will find it much healthier to not get in our way. Oh, and Raccoon City is not in as good of shape as you were lead to believe. Do enjoy yourselves here, it will be fun. Out."

Captain Schneider shivered. Shit, the Colonel was right! This doesn't bode well for the mission. He toggled the switch on his headset. "Tom, do you have a sec?"

The pilot popped the gum that he chewed. "Yeah Cap, what can I do for ya?"

He ignored the lazy protocol from his pilot as he sat forward. "That last communication that I received, is there any way you can trace where it came from?"

Flight Officer Briggs glanced over at his co-pilot. Flight Officer 2nd Grade Mark Turner shook his head as he moved his mouthpiece down to talk. "Sorry Captain, I am afraid not. All I could trace is if it came from any of the choppers in the convey, or if it came from HQ."

The captain shook his head. "That's okay, Mark, Tom. That told me exactly what I needed to know."

The pilot and co-pilot briefly glanced at each other in puzzlement before they returned their eyes back to the front. Mark pointed to a building that came closer. "Hey Tom, there it is."

"Where is what?"

The co-pilot rolled his eyes. "The building that was selected for us to drop the team off, dummy. Right down there."

He pointed toward the newer building down on the street. He smiled briefly before he noticed that there was a crowd of people on the street. They seemed...strange. Puzzled, he flipped one of the monitors on that was connected to a camera below the nose of the Mi-24. He toggled the resolution up a bit until he had a good view of the crowd. What the hell? They moved slowly, almost drunkenly. Oh hell, this was not good. "Tom, safest place to land is the roof, can you put us down okay?"

The pilot waved his hand. "I could do it blindfolded, Cap."

Captain Keitel opened his full communication band. "Alright, Team Alpha, be ready. We can't land in the street, we will land on that RPD building below us. Get your gear, we drop in five."

"Affirmative, Captain."